1.3. Have you ever seen...? - Std 9 - Kumarbharati

Poet: Anonymous

Textbook: English Kumarbharati – Std X

Genre: Humorous / Riddle Poem / Figurative Language Verse

English Summary

This poem is a humorous and witty collection of impossible or absurd questions based on homographs and wordplay. It challenges the literal meaning of words that are commonly used in figurative or idiomatic ways. For instance, it asks if a “mountain has toes” or if the “needle winks its eye,” blending imagination with double meanings. The poet cleverly uses homographs—words that are spelled the same but have different meanings—to make the reader think and laugh. The poem is light-hearted in tone and invites students to explore language creatively, showcasing the fun side of English through imagination and poetic devices like interrogation, pun, and personification.

Theme / Central Idea

The poem humorously explores the playful and illogical sides of language by questioning everyday expressions. It shows how words can have multiple meanings and encourages creative thinking.

Word Meanings

Figures of Speech (with examples)

1. “Have you ever seen a sheet on a river bed?”

   • Figure: Pun

   • Explanation: 'Sheet' and 'bed' both have double meanings—play on words.

     
     

2. “Does the needle ever wink its eye?”

   • Figure: Personification

   • Explanation: A needle is given human ability to wink.

     
     

3. “Why doesn’t the wing of a building fly?”

   • Figure: Interrogation

   • Explanation: A question asked not to get an answer but to create humour.

     
     

4. “Or open the trunk of a tree at all?”

   • Figure: Pun

   • Explanation: ‘Trunk’ can mean both tree stem and a storage box.

     
     

5. “Have the hands of a clock any left or right?”

   • Figure: Personification

   • Explanation: Clock hands are described as if they were human hands.

   
   

Two-Mark Questions

1. Explain the line: “Does the needle ever wink its eye?”

   • The poet asks if a needle, which has an "eye" (hole for thread), can wink like a human. It creates a humorous effect using personification.

     
     

2. What is the tone of the poem?

   • The tone is playful, humorous, and imaginative. The poet uses funny questions to entertain and make readers think about language.

     
     

3. Why is the poem considered creative and imaginative?

   • The poem creatively uses homographs and puns to ask silly yet clever questions, showing how language can be playful and poetic.

     
     

4. What is the meaning of ‘ribs’ in the line “tickle the ribs of a parasol”?

   • Here, ‘ribs’ refers to the curved metal supports inside an umbrella. The poet plays with its anatomical meaning for humour.

     
     

5. Which poetic device is used in “Can the garden plot be deep and dark?” and why?

   • Pun: ‘Plot’ refers to land for gardening and also to a story's mystery. It creates double meaning for comic effect.

   
   

True or False

1. The poet asks questions that have logical answers.

   → False

   
   

2. The poem uses figures of speech like puns and personification.

   → True

   
   

3. “Have the hands of a clock any left or right?” is an example of interrogation.

   → True

   
   

Probable Board Questions (Based on Trends)

1. What is the main poetic device used in the poem “Have You Ever Seen...?”

   • The poem mainly uses pun, where one word is used in two different senses to create humour and playfulness.

     
     

2. How does the poet create humour in the poem?

   • The poet creates humour by asking absurd and illogical questions that twist the normal meanings of common words.

     
     

3. Why does the poet ask these unusual questions?

   • The questions are not meant to be answered but to highlight how words can be funny and confusing when taken literally.

     
     

4. Explain the line: “Have the hands of a clock any left or right?”

   • The line questions whether clock hands are like human hands, using personification and pun to amuse the reader.

Poem Appreciation (Paragraph Format)

The poem “Have You Ever Seen...?” by an Anonymous poet is a humorous and imaginative composition. The theme of the poem revolves around the playful use of homographs and puns. The language is simple but clever, and the tone is light-hearted and funny. The poet uses poetic devices like pun, personification, and interrogation to present everyday words in absurd ways. The rhyme scheme adds to the musicality of the poem. I especially enjoyed how the poet used ordinary objects like clocks, trees, and needles in such a funny and imaginative manner. The poem makes us realise how fun and tricky language can be when we play with its meanings.

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